What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,44

mean, I get that you need nurses and stuff, but I can help do other things.”

“Bailey, I'm not kicking you out, I promise. I just might be busy sometimes and won't always be around in time for Nurse Grace to take off, so I figured it was time to get another nurse. I can't ask Grace to work more hours, she's already here for twelve,” Valentine sighed. She would've loved it if Grace could've been a live-in nurse, and she'd almost thought to barter with Ari to get him to pay for it.

But Grace had a husband, she couldn't spend all her time at Valentine's house. A second nurse to cover some evening hours would be fine.

“You're getting another job?” Bailey asked. Valentine swallowed thickly.

“It's sort of an on-call thing, yeah.”

“You're gonna kill yourself working as hard as you do,” she pointed out.

Valentine snorted.

“I have absolutely no doubt of that. I'll let you get back to work, just wanted to let you know about the nursing situation,” she excused herself as she stood up.

Valentine was halfway out the door when Bailey finally spoke again.

“Hey, Val?” she called, and Val turned around to face her. “Thanks for letting me know. And ... I just wanted to tell you ... I think it's really cool. All the stuff you do. School, and working your ass off all the time, giving me a place to stay for free.”

“It's not really for free, you have to stay home all night most nights,” Val argued.

“C'mon, we both know I wouldn't be going out anyway. And your grandma never does anything at night, just sleeps – I really do check on her every hour. Anyway, thanks. I know I'm like a weirdo hiding in here all the time, and I can act like a bitch, but I ... I kinda hope ... some day I wanna try to be more like you.”

The sentiment was so sweet, it almost brought tears to Valentine's eyes. But it also made her feel a little sick to her stomach, especially when she thought about the deals she'd been making lately.

“No, you don't,” she chuckled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You really don't, Bailey.”

“I do. You're like funny and outgoing, and I see how you look when you come home in the mornings, I wouldn't even begin to know how to do my makeup like that, and the clothes you wear are so cool,” Bailey laughed. “I bet that club you work at is awesome.”

The sick feeling was getting worse. Valentine was twenty-two, and she was from New York City, and she'd been exposed to a lot of rough things over the past five years. Bailey, though, had just turned nineteen, and she was fresh from Minnesota. As weird as she was and as bitchy as she could be, she was still ultimately a good girl.

Valentine hoped she'd stay that way.

“Tell you what,” she had to clear her throat of unshed tears before she could speak. “Some day, one of my days off, and if you're not busy, maybe you could let me do your makeup, and I could let you borrow some of my clothes, and we could go out together. I think it'd be really fun.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me, too, Val,” Bailey said. Then she smiled big. “It'll be like wearing a mask, I can act like a whole different person, not be so anxious when I'm outside. Maybe we can go to your club.”

Valentine stiffened up.

“We're definitely not going there,” she said, then she softened her words with a laugh. “I mean, I work there, right? I don't want to play there. We'll go somewhere else. It'll be a date.”

After that, she made a hasty retreat back to her bedroom. She couldn't handle anymore poignant moments, jesus.

Maybe that's part of what she liked about Caché, and also what she was growing to like about her situation with Ari. It was all so ... light. No cares, no feelings, no constrictions. All she had to do at Caché was show up and dance and flirt. All she had to do with Ari was show up and dance and flirt.

At home, she had so many responsibilities. She always had to be in control of every situation. Had to be in control of herself. She had to worry about taking care of everyone, and getting good grades, and making sure she had enough money for the month – and now she apparently had to worry about someone looking